Damages - TV Fanatic

Damages Season 4 First Look: Official DirecTV Preview

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 11:55:17 EST

The pain you endure will bring you closer to God.

The words of Rihanna and John Goodman highlight the first official promo for season four of Damages.

In the following video, we're only treated to a few scenes from the upcoming season - which premieres on DirecTV on July 13 - but the bellowing of Goodman, in the role of a military contractor CEO, makes it impossible to turn away.

Damages Season 4 Trailer

Also joining Glenn Close and Rose Byrne on the drama this summer will be Judd Hirsch, Griffin Dunne and Chris Messina.

Damages Sets Premiere Date, Teases New Season

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Wed, 25 May 2011 11:24:57 EST

Damages has set a date for its debut on DIRECTV July 13.

Speaking on the unusual arrangement that has the drama solely airing on that satellite provider, series creators Todd A. Kessler, Daniel Zelman and Glenn Kessler released a statement today that reads:

"The opportunity to be on DIRECTV this season allows us to explore another chapter in the lives of Patty Hewes and Ellen Parsons, and push the envelope in terms of storytelling and content."

What will that chapter focus on? Visit our Damages spoilers section for major intel, and consider the following, official synopsis:

The fourth season finds Patty and Ellen embroiled in a wrongful-death suit against a private military contractor, Howard T. Erickson (John Goodman). Erickson has made a fortune supplying the U.S. Government with security forces in Afghanistan and is protected by his connections within the highest echelons of power in Washington, D.C. Chris Sanchez (Chris Messina), a decorated soldier who now works for the security firm, is drawn into the web of intrigue when Ellen and Patty set their sights on his corrupt employer.

Complicating matters is Jerry Boorman (Dylan Baker), a shadowy opportunist with ties to both Erickson and the Middle East who is intimately involved in the season-long conspiracy at the heart of the lawsuit.

Glenn Close Teases Season Four of Damages

matt@tvfanatic.com (TV Fanatic Staff) — Mon, 23 May 2011 13:29:40 EST

The fourth season of Damages, coming solely to DirecTV this July, will feature a number of big names. Among them: John Goodman and Judd Hirsch.

But Glenn Close remains the biggest of them all, of course, and she'll reprise her Emmy-winning role of Patty Hewes over the course of 13 episodes this summer. What can we expect from her character and the series?

"We find Patty with a big class action suit against a pharmaceutical company, so she’s going big guns on that," Close previewed to The New York Post. "But the most problematic part of her life is that she has a three-year-old granddaughter, has a hard time keeping nannies and hasn’t seen her son Michael in three years."

So, Close has custody of Michael's child. But what about the main relationship on the show? That of Patty and Ellen. Says the star:

"Patty gives Ellen an office to work out of because she quits the DA’s office, then Ellen comes to her for help - but Patty is very much in the background this year with the case. She obviously kicks in when she needs to, but it’s always at Ellen’s request."

Sounds intriguing. But what else would we expect from Damages?

Griffin Dunne Cast on New Season of Damages

matt@tvfanatic.com (TV Fanatic Staff) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 08:31:46 EST

A new name has been added to the impressive list of fourth season guest stars on Damages.

Griffin Dunne will portray a foreign reporter on the FX drama, someone who is looking into a military security company that is being sued over an incident in a war zone. The actor most recently appeared on White Collar and The Good Wife.

Other season four players Judd Hirsch, Bailey Chase and John Goodman. Damages airs on DirecTV this summer.

Judd Hirsch Signs on for Damages

matt@tvfanatic.com (TV Fanatic Staff) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:16:47 EST

Damages continues to round out its fourth season cast. The latest addition?

Veteran actor Judd Hirsch. As first reported by Entertainment Weekly, the former Taxi/Numb3rs star will come on board as a former mentor of Patty’s. Now an alcoholic, the character has fallen far since assisting Patty soon after she graduated law school.

Airing on DirecTV this summer, season four of Damages will focus on a wrongful death suit filed against military contractor.

Chris Messina and John Goodman will also play key roles when the series returns in June or July.

Chris Messina Cast on Damages

matt@tvfanatic.com (TV Fanatic Staff) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:17:47 EST

Chris Messina has landed a key role on the upcoming season of Damages.

The actor will portray a high school acquaintance of Ellen's and a former soldier. When the series picks up this summer, Messina's character will be working for a private security firm in Afghanistan.

The fourth season of Damages premieres this summer and will air solely on DirecTV.

It will center on a wrongful death suit involving a Blackwater-type company. John Goodman and Dylan Baker have already signed on for recurring roles on the Glenn Close-anchored drama.

John Goodman Lands Key Role on Damages

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:30:01 EST

John Goodman has landed a key, recurring role on the new season of Damages.

The veteran actor will come on board the legal thriller as the CEO of a Blackwater-type military contractor. His character will be the defendant in a wrongful death suit regarding a war zone incident.

This is one of the two season four roles we teased in this Damages preview. Look for the series to cast at least one more actor/actress, likely a big name, as another significant new character.

Damages Season Four Storyline: Revealed!

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:55:53 EST

As excitedly reported last summer, Damages has been saved by DirecTV. The Glenn Close-anchored drama will return with new episodes, aired exclusively on that provider, in July.

Now, Executive Producer Daniel Zelman has revealed the main storyline that will drive season four of the series.

He tells USA Today that Patty Hewes will tackle "a wrongful-death suit filed against a military contractor over something that happened in a war zone."

Known to make great use out of guest stars, Damages is casting two season-long characters:

A former Navy SEAL who runs this fictionalized Blackwater and is a defendant in the case.
A powerful, mysterious individual also involved in the crime.

Fellow producer Glenn Kessler adds that DirecTV is "encouraging us to take things even further than we did on FX." We can't wait to see what that means.

Damages: Saved by DirecTV!!!

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:59:43 EST

Patty Hewes will live to scheme another day.

Another 20 days, to be exact.

In a surprising move, DirecTV has agreed to a deal with Damages, as that company's 101 network will air two more seasons of the drama - each consisting of 10 episodes - starting next year.

Said Patty Ishimoto, general manager of The 101 Network and vice president of entertainment for DirecTV:

“We’re excited to partner with Sony Pictures Television as we breathe new life into this outstanding drama. It’s a win for our customers because only they will be able to see these new episodes and another great step forward for DirecTV as we continue to build our growing portfolio of exclusive, award winning programming.“

Unlike DirecTV's deal with Friday Night Lights, Damages will only air on this network.

We'll have more in this deal as information becomes available.

Damages Review: "Don't Forget to Thank Mr. Zedeck"

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:10:47 EST

In its first two seasons, Damages spent a great deal of time on three things:

Patty Hewes
Twists
Turns

The show did a tremendous job building up Glenn Close's character, and then focused its efforts on fooling the audience in a myriad of ways. Episodes concluded with cliff-hangers, scenes jumped from the past to the future and back again.

It was mostly effective and interesting, but we're very glad the third season has slowed everything down a bit. By delving deeply into the lives of Joe Tobin, Ellen and, last night, Tom, Damages has revealed itself to be a truly great drama. It knows how to tell a story, not just shock it viewers.

"Don't Forget to Thank Mr. Zedeck" was a prime example of this welcome change.

When we first saw Tom's dead body on the season premiere, we were intrigued to learn how he died. Now, we're actually sad!

Poor Tom. He's always been a good father and now we see how financial constraints are taking a toll on his family. Does he arrange to have himself killed for insurance money in the future? Does that cold-hearted advisor have anything to do with his death?

We don't know at the moment, but we do know this: by dedicating chunks of last night's episode to his life, we're now fully invested in Tom's death.

The same thing applies to Joe Tobin. We know more about him now than we ever knew about Arthur Frobisher, and this character development serves the overall storyline very well.

Joe is also a decent family man, confused, angry and stuck in a dangerus position to his fiscal problems. He and Tom aren't really that different and both even reflect the current economic climate.

We even learn more and more about Alex Benjamin each week, though we must admit: we have no idea where this storyline is going. Are there any guesses out there? Is Alex just being used as a pawn between Patty and Ellen, so the former can get inside the latter's head?

It's hard to tell because Patty has been shoved into the background so far this season. But Close's performance is so powerful, she still steals every scene she's in. And by highlighting those around her, Damages simply raises the stakes for whatever Patty has up her sleeve in the end.

Also: welcome back, Keith Carradine!

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